Hogan Expresses Frustration over Lack of Action on Crime Bills; Legislative Leadership Pushes Back

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) railed against Democratic lawmakers Thursday afternoon for not passing his crime bills for the third year in a row.

“We have repeatedly proposed this legislation but year after year the legislature has refused to take action,” Hogan said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. “Meanwhile, while we wait for them to act, thousands of people have been killed in the city of Baltimore.”

According to the Baltimore Sun’s Homicide Database, the city has seen 319 killings in 2021.

The General Assembly convened in a special session earlier this week to take up congressional redistricting legislation and enact a series of bills that Hogan vetoed following the 2021 regular legislative session.

Hogan introduced two bills from his crime package Monday, which have been introduced in the legislature in the last few years but did not get far.

Senate Bill 5, or the Judicial Transparency Act of 2021, would require the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy to track judicial sentencing information for violent crimes to be published in its annual report provided to the governor and legislature.

Senate Bill 6, also known as the Violent Firearms Offender Act of 2021, which would increase the length of and impose mandatory sentences for people who have been repeatedly convicted of firearms offenses.

“Passing these desperately needed reforms has been a multi-year effort by our administration,” the governor said in a statement after his bills were introduced. “We have all waited long enough. City leaders, the city delegation, and all members of the General Assembly must finally work with us to make our neighborhoods safer and to get these violent shooters off the streets.”

In a push to have the bills brought forth before the end of the special General Assembly session, Senate Republicans reached across the aisle Wednesday, asking Democrats to sign a petition to bring the measures to the Senate floor.

Under a Maryland Senate Rule, 16 senators need to sign a petition that would allow a bill to move out of its committee and onto the Senate floor. There are 15 Republicans in the Senate.

“As you well know, a violent crime crisis continues to plague the people and the communities we serve throughout the State. Unfortunately, this crisis is worsening, and the time to act is now,” the Senate Republican Caucus wrote. “Marylanders cannot afford for the legislature to wait until we return for our regular session in January to protect our communities from repeat, violent offenders.”

In a news release issued Thursday afternoon, the caucus said it was “disappointed and disheartened” that none of the 32 Democrats in the Senate had agreed to sign their petition.

“Improving public safety and keeping repeat, violent offenders off the streets of Maryland’s communities is not a partisan issue,” Simonaire said in a statement. “Our constituents across the State are looking to us for leadership on this issue, and we are disappointed that not one of our colleagues would sign the petition to address this crisis immediately during this Special Session.”

Hogan joined in Simonaire’s frustration and called on the legislature to “reverse course” and pass the bills before the special session’s end.

“It isn’t a matter of Republicans versus Democrats; it’s a matter of life and death. And it’s not just about the differences between the right and the left; it’s a difference between right and wrong,” Hogan said. “Citizens will not be able to take back their streets and their communities without city leaders and legislators doing the jobs that they were elected to do.”

The chambers did not take up the measures in their final hours of the special session.

In response to Hogan’s dismay Thursday, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) told his chamber that the General Assembly convened to achieve three constitutional priorities: pass redistricting legislation, address vetoed bills from the 2021 regular session and elect a new state treasurer to replace Nancy K. Kopp (D), who announced that she will retire at the end of the year.

Ferguson added that the Senate “stands ready to assist the governor and using the $42 billion that the state has to improve communities to reduce violence, today.”

“I wish there were a piece of legislation we could pass that would solve the problems,” he continued. “What we know is this is complex and we have a lot of resources to bear and we all stand willing and ready to help with that challenge because it’s something that’s got to change for Maryland’s future.”

Shortly after Ferguson addressed the governor’s concerns, House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) announced the creation of a workgroup to study ways to increase judicial transparency.

Dels. Debra Davis (D-Charles), Rachel Jones (D-Calvert and Prince George’s), Rachel P. Muñoz (R-Anne Arundel), Haven N. Shoemaker (R-Carroll) and Nicole A. Williams (D-Prince George’s) will work alongside Clippinger to investigate sentencing practices including the prevalence of plea deals, and the disposition of people convicted of multiple offenses, among other topics.

“The high rate of murders and rapes across the State since 2015 continues to be troubling,” Jones said in a statement Thursday. “We need to look at other pieces of the criminal justice system to identify a more holistic solution to make our neighborhoods safer.”

The House Workgroup on Judicial Transparency will hold its first meeting on Dec. 20.

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